Community partners are working together to mitigate the impact of excessive drinking this coming weekend in an effort to keep both students and community members safe. The traditional celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with parades, parties, and all things green. A major part of the celebration is the drinking culture, with social norms and traditions around St. Patrick’s Day affecting how alcohol is viewed and how it is consumed.

While traditions can play a huge role in how, when, and why people drink, what else influences the culture of alcohol use in a community? There are a number of environmental conditions that play a role including how readily available and accessible alcohol is, alcohol advertising and promotion, campus and local alcohol policies, Continue Reading »

]]>Guest blog by Cathy Edwards, Chair of the Greater Kingston Area Safe & Sober Community Alliance Post-Secondary Work Group

Community partners are working together to mitigate the impact of excessive drinking this coming weekend in an effort to keep both students and community members safe. The traditional celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with parades, parties, and all things green. A major part of the celebration is the drinking culture, with social norms and traditions around St. Patrick’s Day affecting how alcohol is viewed and how it is consumed.

While traditions can play a huge role in how, when, and why people drink, what else influences the culture of alcohol use in a community? There are a number of environmental conditions that play a role including how readily available and accessible alcohol is, alcohol advertising and promotion, campus and local alcohol policies, and enforcement of alcohol laws.

Research demonstrates the value and need to bring campuses and communities together to change the environmental conditions that promote heavy alcohol consumption.[1],[2]As a member of the national Post Secondary Education Partnership on Alcohol Harms (PEP-AH), Queen’s University has expressed its commitment to implementing evidence-based actions to reduce alcohol-related harms, and recognizes that helping shape the off-campus environment in which students live, work and play is an essential component of a multi-faceted strategy to support student health and safety.

So, what does the off-campus environment look like? The targeted marketing and promotion of alcohol, including drink specials to students, is common practice. And with more than half of all licensed establishments in the City of Kingston clustered within 1.5 km or a 15-minute walk of Queen’s University campus, the near-campus environment is one in which alcohol is easily accessible and available. We know that the density of alcohol outlets plays a major role in over consumption, and related problems.[3]

In addition to heightened enforcement, offering training to bars to help create safer drinking environments, and educating students and the public around safe drinking practices, what else can be done to minimize the impact alcohol has on our community? Are we ready to consider and act on the role cheap drink specials, targeted marketing and alcohol outlet density are having on consumption?

Whether it is public intoxication, alcohol poisoning, vandalism, violence, sexual assault, or impaired driving, preventing alcohol-related harms requires a community effort. We must continue to work together to look at better ways to address community alcohol problems.

In the months since Homecoming-related street parties impacted near-campus neighbourhoods and local emergency rooms, community partners including Queen’s, the City, health and emergency services have been working together to examine a plethora of initiatives intended to provide additional enforcement tools and incentives to curb out-of-control parties. The City’s new nuisance-party bylaw is one such tool; it promises to provide stiff fines to those hosting parties that put themselves or others at risk. The partners continue to examine other tools and practices as part of efforts to dissuade harmful or dangerous behaviours.

A key element in the equation is how we can create conditions that support more positive and responsible choices about alcohol. It is crucial that as a community we engage and empower those who choose to drink to value safe drinking. At the same time, it is important for us to look at the broader environment and engage the community if we are ever going to change the drinking culture.

[1] Wechsler, Henry and Nelson, Toben F., Harvard School of Public Health. “What We Have Learned from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study: Focusing Attention on College Student Alcohol Consumption and the Environmental Conditions that Promote It”, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, July 2008. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/What-We-Learned-08.pdf

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/03/14/a-community-effort-creating-conditions-for-a-safer-alcohol-culture/feed/0Unveiling Queen’s forgotten Black Historyhttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/26/unveiling-queens-forgotten-black-history/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/26/unveiling-queens-forgotten-black-history/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 21:26:28 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1263I asked Edward Thomas, Sc’06, MASc’12, to write a guest blog about Black History Month at Queen’s focusing on the research he’s conducted over this past year around one of the most shameful events in our university’s history: the expulsion of black medical students in 1918.

I am both fascinated and saddened by what he has uncovered, and hope to work with Edward and others to acknowledge these very troubling events in our history, the legacies of the students we abandoned and make some kind of amends.

Many thanks to Edward for his research and lending his expertise to this post.

——————————–

The roots of Black History Month date to the 1920s. The American scholar Carter G. Woodson, PhD., understood how the stories a society tells itself can either expand or limit its sense of what’s possible. Continue Reading »

]]>I asked Edward Thomas, Sc’06, MASc’12, to write a guest blog about Black History Month at Queen’s focusing on the research he’s conducted over this past year around one of the most shameful events in our university’s history: the expulsion of black medical students in 1918.

I am both fascinated and saddened by what he has uncovered, and hope to work with Edward and others to acknowledge these very troubling events in our history, the legacies of the students we abandoned and make some kind of amends.

Many thanks to Edward for his research and lending his expertise to this post.

——————————–

The roots of Black History Month date to the 1920s. The American scholar Carter G. Woodson, PhD., understood how the stories a society tells itself can either expand or limit its sense of what’s possible. He first promoted the February observance to expand his nation’s sense of what black life meant to its past, present and future. He positioned the annual commemoration in opposition to historians who ignored black contributions and achievements. But Woodson’s Black History Month aspired to more than annual recitations of well-known tales—he wanted to engage everyone’s curiosity and remind us how black people have contributed to all stages of our national, local and institutional stories. He wanted people to understand that Black History is intertwined with Everyone’s History.

I learned last year just how deeply Black History is woven into Queen’s history as I researched the circumstances and consequences of our university’s notorious expulsion of black medical students in 1918.

I entered this work, framing Queen’s Black History as a retelling of the financial benevolence of Robert Sutherland in 1878 and Alfie Pierce’s decades of minstrelsy ending in 1951. I emerged from this work having discovered something much more expansive — scores of black medical students between 1900 and 1922 who became medical heroes, statesmen, patrons, tycoons, clerics, builders, activists and advocates. In their time, these alumni became historically significant engines of changes affecting us all. I had the honour of presenting 10 of their stories on February 15 at Robert Sutherland Hall (thanks to Queen’s African and Caribbean Students Association).

The individual stories are remarkable. They include Dr. Hugh G. H. Cummins (Premier of Barbados), Dr. Clement Courtney Ligoure (North-End medical hero of the Halifax explosion), Dr. Simeon A. Hayes (co-founding director of C.L. Financial) and many others. The personal and professional networks of Queen’s 1900-1922 black medical alumni intersected many of the leading thinkers of the 20th century. Even more remarkable is that their names remained unacknowledged at Queen’s for 100 years.

The research of Queen’s early black medical alumni overturns a 100-year-old narrative about the nature of the 1918 expulsions, their immediate consequence and their ultimate meaning to this university’s development. The research shows how Queen’s was Canada’s leading centre for black professional education in 1917. The research demonstrates the alumni’s significant roles in shaping history in Canada and around the world. The research expands our consideration of what Queen’s could have, but did not, contribute to the 20th century’s long march in the direction of social, economic and political progress.

There are troubling implications stemming from this work. The evidentiary rationale for the university’s historic turn against black students is troubling. The unsettled matter of our official resolutions against black students is troubling. Our broken relationship with the legacies of the affected black students is troubling. Most troubling is the intervening century during which our community of scholars, myself included, has ignored the contributions and achievements of these black alumni. If one can know a culture by observing the stories it tells about itself, one can know a university’s character by the effort it expends to faithfully understand its own history. This year’s Black History Month has given us new way points to explore and understand Queen’s history.

Edward Thomas

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/26/unveiling-queens-forgotten-black-history/feed/0Informed respectful debate is central to academiahttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/20/informed-respectful-debate-is-central-to-academia/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/20/informed-respectful-debate-is-central-to-academia/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 00:07:32 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1259The principles of academic freedom, expressed through thoughtful, informed and respectful investigation, are a central tenet of the values Queen’s holds, and which it strives to instill in our students.

Far too often universities, and university academics, have been attacked by increasingly polarized interest groups seeking to stifle thoughtful or respectful examinations of opposing ideas. Hate speech aside, failing to explore or confront ideas with which we disagree through disciplined and respectful dialogue, debate and argument, does society a disservice, weakens our intellectual integrity, and threatens the very core of what Queen’s, and any university, should be about.

Throughout my tenure as Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s has advanced the values of diversity and inclusion, and it remains a predominant focus of my own work. I believe that everyone within the university community should feel able to explore and debate diverse and even uncomfortable viewpoints if that occurs in a respectful academic environment. Continue Reading »

]]>The principles of academic freedom, expressed through thoughtful, informed and respectful investigation, are a central tenet of the values Queen’s holds, and which it strives to instill in our students.

Far too often universities, and university academics, have been attacked by increasingly polarized interest groups seeking to stifle thoughtful or respectful examinations of opposing ideas. Hate speech aside, failing to explore or confront ideas with which we disagree through disciplined and respectful dialogue, debate and argument, does society a disservice, weakens our intellectual integrity, and threatens the very core of what Queen’s, and any university, should be about.

Throughout my tenure as Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s has advanced the values of diversity and inclusion, and it remains a predominant focus of my own work. I believe that everyone within the university community should feel able to explore and debate diverse and even uncomfortable viewpoints if that occurs in a respectful academic environment.

Queen’s law professor Bruce Pardy has organized a presentation by University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson, to examine “the rising tide of compelled speech in Canada”. Already there are expressions of outrage that the event is taking place, and still others have condemned that outrage. Expressing one’s affront to an idea or position is completely acceptable in an academic environment, if supported by informed arguments and expressed respectfully; blanket calls for censorship however, are intellectually lazy and are anathema to scholarly pursuits.

Whatever one’s strongly-felt objections to particular points of view, their mere expression does not constitute a threat to physical safety; nor does that expression imply that the university itself accepts those views. To the contrary, if history has taught us anything, it is that attempts to shut down debate and limit speech serve no one well—even the groups calling for such silencing. They merely make it easier for the next group in power to silence others. A university cannot sustain its ancient mission of inquiry into the true, the good, and the beautiful under such circumstances, nor can it exercise its responsibility to pursue knowledge free of constraint.

Let’s be clear here: what is at issue is nothing less than our commitment to academic freedom. If the views expressed, however uncomfortable for some, are not a violation of Canadian law, related university policies or otherwise demonstrate an intention or effect of inciting hatred and violence, then as academics we should listen and present opposing ideas through informed and respectful dialogue.

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/20/informed-respectful-debate-is-central-to-academia/feed/87After the votehttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/14/after-the-vote/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/14/after-the-vote/#commentsWed, 14 Feb 2018 21:34:23 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1257The Alma Mater Society (AMS) and Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) held a referendum on charging students a mandatory fee to help finance the redevelopment of the John Deutsch University Centre. The results came in late last night with 51.1% of the AMS students voting no, and 77.3% of the SGPS students voting yes.

The project was contingent on a financing commitment from both levels of student government as well as one by the University. With this split decision, the university cannot proceed as planned, at the present time, with the JDUC redevelopment project. However, the university remains supportive of enhancing student life on campus, and will continue to work with student leaders over the next few weeks to determine next steps, recognizing in particular the strong endorsement by graduate and professional students of a need for dedicated space.

I want to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that went into this project by our student leaders and our administration and wish to thank them for their commitment to the quality of student life. Continue Reading »

]]>The Alma Mater Society (AMS) and Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) held a referendum on charging students a mandatory fee to help finance the redevelopment of the John Deutsch University Centre. The results came in late last night with 51.1% of the AMS students voting no, and 77.3% of the SGPS students voting yes.

The project was contingent on a financing commitment from both levels of student government as well as one by the University. With this split decision, the university cannot proceed as planned, at the present time, with the JDUC redevelopment project. However, the university remains supportive of enhancing student life on campus, and will continue to work with student leaders over the next few weeks to determine next steps, recognizing in particular the strong endorsement by graduate and professional students of a need for dedicated space.

I want to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that went into this project by our student leaders and our administration and wish to thank them for their commitment to the quality of student life. I myself had hoped for a positive outcome, and know there are many of you who are disappointed in this result. However, please be assured that while the proposed development will not proceed this year, we will not stop working together to improve all aspects of student life, including increasing accessibility and access to club and study spaces.

Thank you for participating in this process.

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/14/after-the-vote/feed/0Cast your vote for the future of the JDUChttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/06/cast-your-vote-for-the-future-of-the-jduc/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/06/cast-your-vote-for-the-future-of-the-jduc/#commentsTue, 06 Feb 2018 18:00:08 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1254On February 12 and 13, Queen’s students will face an important question. The AMS, along with the SPGS, is holding a referendum on implementing a new student fee to help fund the redevelopment of the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC).

I am a strong supporter of the role of student government within the university. Consequently, I do not normally express opinions or intervene in matters within student leadership’s domain. However, the JDUC renovation is important to the university as well, and I want to work together with the AMS and SGPS to create a modern student life facility, which is important to the student experience on campus.

Plans for the revitalized JDUC include making the building completely accessible, creating new space for clubs and faculty societies, and developing collaborative study spaces. The annual non-reviewable fee would be implemented beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year and charged for the following 20 years. Continue Reading »

]]>On February 12 and 13, Queen’s students will face an important question. The AMS, along with the SPGS, is holding a referendum on implementing a new student fee to help fund the redevelopment of the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC).

I am a strong supporter of the role of student government within the university. Consequently, I do not normally express opinions or intervene in matters within student leadership’s domain. However, the JDUC renovation is important to the university as well, and I want to work together with the AMS and SGPS to create a modern student life facility, which is important to the student experience on campus.

Plans for the revitalized JDUC include making the building completely accessible, creating new space for clubs and faculty societies, and developing collaborative study spaces. The annual non-reviewable fee would be implemented beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year and charged for the following 20 years. This is a standard funding model for student-led capital projects at campuses across the country.

There is a long history at Queen’s of student-led fundraising and support for campus buildings. In fact, one of our most iconic landmarks, Grant Hall, would not exist without the generous contributions of both students and alumni. The building was originally to be financed by the Frontenac County Council, but citizens rescinded the proposal in 1901 when shovels were already in the ground. Queen’s students and alumni rallied together to raise the funds needed to complete the building, one-third of which came from the students themselves.

More recently, the AMS and Queen’s students contributed more than $25 million to constructing the Queen’s Centre and within it the Athletic and Recreation Centre, a facility vastly superior to those previously available. Today, students use that facility thanks to the contributions of those who came before them. As a proud alumnus myself, I know that Queen’s students value the important role they play in shaping the university’s legacy and to the students that follow in our footsteps. If you have benefitted from the philanthropy of your predecessors by using the Queen’s Centre, please consider paying that forward now.

Graduate students may well wonder why they should contribute, given that they are more closely tied to their specific departments and often have office space. I would encourage you, too, to vote in favour. Increased graduate space has been something that graduate student leadership has proposed at various times over the past decade, but until this year I have never seen the kind of alignment between AMS and SGPS leadership that has now brought the project to this important juncture.

The university believes in the importance of this project and is proud to help fund it. The university intends to make a substantial contribution to this project and philanthropic donations will play a part, as well. I sincerely hope we have the chance to work with the AMS and SGPS to build a student centre of which we can all be proud.

Of course, this decision is not up to me. It is you, the students, who must decide about the future of the JDUC. I encourage you to learn more about the JDUC plans, ask questions about the project to your student leaders and make your decision. On February 12 and 13, cast your electronic vote and let your voice be heard. The quality of student life for future generations of Queen’s students and alumni depends on your participation.

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/02/06/cast-your-vote-for-the-future-of-the-jduc/feed/0You are not alonehttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/01/31/you-are-not-alone/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/01/31/you-are-not-alone/#commentsWed, 31 Jan 2018 20:44:32 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1252The following email was sent to all students from Principal Daniel Woolf on Monday, January 26, 2018

This time of year, when term is underway, daylight is short, and the weather is mostly cold and grey, can sometimes feel dreary following the holiday break. As we face the intensity of the term, it’s not uncommon for students to feel the pressure of day-to-day life increasing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, lonely, or depressed, or even just slightly unhappy, but can’t put your finger on why, please know that this is not unusual, and is experienced by many of us at this time of year. But there are plenty of people who understand, and plenty more who feel the same way as you do even if you are not aware of them.

I understand from a couple of recent conversations with students that some of the mental health-related support services that Queen’s provides may not be as well known as they should be. Continue Reading »

]]>The following email was sent to all students from Principal Daniel Woolf on Monday, January 26, 2018

This time of year, when term is underway, daylight is short, and the weather is mostly cold and grey, can sometimes feel dreary following the holiday break. As we face the intensity of the term, it’s not uncommon for students to feel the pressure of day-to-day life increasing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, lonely, or depressed, or even just slightly unhappy, but can’t put your finger on why, please know that this is not unusual, and is experienced by many of us at this time of year. But there are plenty of people who understand, and plenty more who feel the same way as you do even if you are not aware of them.

I understand from a couple of recent conversations with students that some of the mental health-related support services that Queen’s provides may not be as well known as they should be.

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you of some resources available to you, both on Queen’s campus and in the wider community. I have included links, in a list below this email, that you can follow if you need help or guidance. In addition to our counsellors at Student Wellness Services in the Lasalle building on Stuart St., I draw your attention to the ‘embedded’ counsellors located at various points around main campus and at west campus.

Please remember to access these supports if you are in need of help or just a friendly listening ear, and don’t feel alone, because you are not.

Appointments with physicians, nurses including a mental health nurse, as well as psychiatrists (by referral) and drop-in service from an Occupational Therapist for matching to the appropriate program/service, all at Student Health Services in the Lasalle Building

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2018/01/31/you-are-not-alone/feed/0A checkup on CBMEhttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/12/08/a-checkup-on-cbme/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/12/08/a-checkup-on-cbme/#commentsFri, 08 Dec 2017 16:27:26 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=12392017 has been another year filled with accomplishments for Queen’s. From the strong performance of our students, to the groundbreaking discoveries of our researchers, we have enjoyed great success and built a strong foundation for 2018.

One of the most innovative projects from the past year has been our national leadership on a new project that is revolutionizing the way we train doctors in Canada. I have asked Dr. Richard Reznick, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, to contribute a guest column to update us on competency-based medical education (CBME) at Queen’s.

At the beginning of the summer, Queen’s took a bold step and introduced a new approach to educating specialty residents called competency-based medical education (CBME). With several months of experience in the new system now complete, it is a good time to take the pulse of the project and update the community on our work. Continue Reading »

]]>2017 has been another year filled with accomplishments for Queen’s. From the strong performance of our students, to the groundbreaking discoveries of our researchers, we have enjoyed great success and built a strong foundation for 2018.

One of the most innovative projects from the past year has been our national leadership on a new project that is revolutionizing the way we train doctors in Canada. I have asked Dr. Richard Reznick, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, to contribute a guest column to update us on competency-based medical education (CBME) at Queen’s.

Queen’s residents hone their skills in a simulation lab.

At the beginning of the summer, Queen’s took a bold step and introduced a new approach to educating specialty residents called competency-based medical education (CBME). With several months of experience in the new system now complete, it is a good time to take the pulse of the project and update the community on our work.

In a CBME approach, the focus is on ensuring residents are evaluated more regularly and consistently, using the reviews to shape their learning over the course of their residency and allowing the residents to closely monitor their own progress and performance to ensure they learn the skills they need.

In addition, the expectations of the competencies expected to be developed in the program are clearly laid out through the delineation of what are referred to as “entrustable professional activities” or EPAs. These spell out exactly how and when residents are ready to independently take care of the many aspects of patient care in a given specialty.

The approach in place at most medical schools today assumes if residents spend enough time on a certain skill or discipline and receive regular feedback from their teachers, they will eventually master their required skills and be ready for their exams and the working world.

Today at Queen’s, written reviews are stored digitally on a resident dashboard. Once filed, a resident has a clear and up-to-date picture of their progress and their next steps. Faculty members have a detailed and comprehensive record to refer back to when evaluating their residents, and the whole system is more accountable for all involved.

Though we had previously implemented competency-based learning in our Family Medicine department, implementing CBME across the board at Queen’s has been achieved years ahead of other medical schools. While others are deploying CBME one program at a time over five years, it was my belief that the best way to deliver this new style of learning was to work as 29 united medical residency programs coordinated by a central team of educators.

This initiative has required a mammoth effort by an incredibly dedicated team of leaders, program directors, educational consultants, and residents, who collectively have used a systems-based approach to effect dramatic change.

It has been a busy fall for me personally, as medical schools and professionals the world over turned to us to learn how we made the transition. In recent months I delivered seven presentations across Canada, the US, and Asia as other schools seek to learn more about how Queen’s made the switch to CBME.

Additionally, dozens of medical leaders attended our November conference on campus and many more are expected at our upcoming CBME webinars.

Our faculty and residents have been equally busy in the ‘classroom’, with over 3,134 resident assessments (and counting) completed by our faculty. This represents a dramatic increase in the amount of feedback these residents would have typically received by this point in their residency. And it is not just the quantity of feedback which makes this important – it is the quality.

There are still several months to go before this year’s cohort of residents completes their first year. Even so, we have been actively seeking ways to continuously improve this system – from refining the review forms to analyzing the assessment results and trends.

Feedback on the CBME program continues to be positive from residents and faculty, and for more on their experience I invite you to read more about CBME in the most recent edition of the Queen’s Alumni Review magazine.

This change has been driven by our goal of preparing doctors for the future of medicine. In order to achieve this, we must ensure each new group of residents is receiving the best possible education. We believe this new delivery method will ensure improved patient care and better outcomes for residents and society as a whole by emphasizing skills first rather than time on the job.

This is the evolution of medical education, and it is happening right here at Queen’s.

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/12/08/a-checkup-on-cbme/feed/0The future is interdisciplinaryhttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/11/07/the-future-is-interdisciplinary/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/11/07/the-future-is-interdisciplinary/#commentsTue, 07 Nov 2017 18:49:41 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1234(This was originally published in The Hill Times on November 3, 2017 and carried by Universities Canada)

Given the complexity of social, political, environmental, economic and technological challenges facing the world, interdisciplinary research is very quickly becoming something no country can do without.

In the past 20 years, interdisciplinary research—studies involving researchers from multiple academic disciplines—has gone from ‘nice to have’ to ‘need to have.’ Today, given the complexity of social, political, environmental, economic and technological challenges facing the world, it is very quickly becoming something no country can do without.

Canada has the skills, talent and capacity to be an international leader in research and innovation. Seizing that opportunity will require concerted effort and unequivocal government support for interdisciplinary as well as traditional discipline-based research. This was recognized by last spring’s federally commissioned Fundamental Science Review, which included a clear call for greater support for research across disciplines. Continue Reading »

]]>(This was originally published in The Hill Times on November 3, 2017 and carried by Universities Canada)

Given the complexity of social, political, environmental, economic and technological challenges facing the world, interdisciplinary research is very quickly becoming something no country can do without.

In the past 20 years, interdisciplinary research—studies involving researchers from multiple academic disciplines—has gone from ‘nice to have’ to ‘need to have.’ Today, given the complexity of social, political, environmental, economic and technological challenges facing the world, it is very quickly becoming something no country can do without.

Canada has the skills, talent and capacity to be an international leader in research and innovation. Seizing that opportunity will require concerted effort and unequivocal government support for interdisciplinary as well as traditional discipline-based research. This was recognized by last spring’s federally commissioned Fundamental Science Review, which included a clear call for greater support for research across disciplines. The authors of that document acknowledged research councils have made efforts in this area, but that more must be done to encourage multidisciplinary research.

Why, exactly? Because it exposes specialists in one area to other perspectives and ways of thinking, challenging received truths and spurring creativity and innovation. In many ways, academic disciplines are like houses, and with disciplinary research nearly everything happens “at home.” I personally like to get out of my own house from time to time, talk to other people, and encounter new perspectives.

In research, this “getting out of the house” has become essential because the problems to be confronted spill across borders, cultural divides and fields of knowledge. Take climate change. It’s not just an environmental issue: it has enormous economic and social implications. How can we possibly take on the challenge of modulating climate change without dealing with the impact of environmental change on local communities and Indigenous peoples?

Technology is another case in point. The rise of the ‘Internet of Things’ and advancement of artificial intelligence both present questions we’ve never had to ask before—questions that are not just of a technical nature but also ethical, legal and sociological.

In all these cases, “interdisciplinary” means not just across the hard sciences but the social sciences as well. To focus only on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is to leave a huge amount of intellectual capacity on the table. This is something that someone like Steve Jobs, for example, understood intuitively. It was the combination of engineering excellence and insight into how people interact that made Apple the company it is today.

The value of social science research is not always easy to quantify, though its absence is keenly felt. This was the case with the rollout of the HPV vaccine a few years ago. Some social science research to understand how the public might perceive the vaccine before it was unveiled could have strengthened communications around the launch—and prevented resistance from parents based on unfounded concerns that it would promote teenage promiscuity.

Some areas of research already employ an interdisciplinary approach regularly. It’s easy to find health science labs with biochemists, biologists, pharmacologists and other specialists working shoulder to shoulder. This needs to be broadened.

Interdisciplinary research is something we prioritize at Queen’s, from our degree program in neuroscience to our centres and institutes that bring together faculty from across departments. Our Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC), which forms teams of young entrepreneurs from diverse disciplines, is testament to the strength of cross-disciplinary research. It was the incubator for Spectra Plasmonics, an entrepreneurial student project that won first prize at an international pitch competition in Singapore this year, beating 35 international teams.

So what needs to happen for Canada to see and support more interdisciplinary research? First, governments at all levels need to fund it. The bodies that administer that funding need to make sure they don’t impose conditions that serve as impediments to interdisciplinary research, effectively administering people back into the corners of their departments, or allow research projects to fall between the gaps.

Within academia, we have an opportunity to think about ways of forging new connections among disciplines, creating the structures to do this kind of work.

We are at the point today where we have to decide how we want to tackle the future. Greg Bavington, the executive director of DDQIC, often asks, “What kind of hockey team would you have if you had all the best goalies in the world—and no one else?” It takes a well-rounded team to achieve a common goal.

The future will be full of challenge and opportunity—most of which we cannot now predict. Rapid technological advances, geo-political challenges and climate change will test our ability to react and navigate. It is through interdisciplinary research teams that we will be best able to respond to these changes, to innovate, seize new opportunities and improve quality of life—both at home and abroad.

]]>http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/11/07/the-future-is-interdisciplinary/feed/0Cultural Appropriations Have Lasting Harmhttp://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/10/27/cultural-appropriations-have-lasting-harm/
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/2017/10/27/cultural-appropriations-have-lasting-harm/#commentsFri, 27 Oct 2017 15:17:28 +0000http://www.queensu.ca/connect/principal/?p=1227It has come to my attention that plans are underway to organize a party known as “Beerfest” at an off-campus house. The history of this “annual” event is not a proud one; already numerous students who feel upset, scared and unsafe have contacted me to express their concerns.

Last year, participants wore costumes that consisted of unacceptable cultural appropriations, and through their actions alienated groups on campus or otherwise caused members of our community to feel belittled or uncomfortable.

It is clear from the language used by the organizers that they have failed to appreciate the lasting harm and the negative impacts this specific event had on others – particularly on racialized members of our community. The evident lack of empathy and judgement of the organizers (and any participants) is alarming and disappointing.

Clearly, some students fail to appreciate that our society has changed and progressed; Continue Reading »

]]>It has come to my attention that plans are underway to organize a party known as “Beerfest” at an off-campus house. The history of this “annual” event is not a proud one; already numerous students who feel upset, scared and unsafe have contacted me to express their concerns.

Last year, participants wore costumes that consisted of unacceptable cultural appropriations, and through their actions alienated groups on campus or otherwise caused members of our community to feel belittled or uncomfortable.

It is clear from the language used by the organizers that they have failed to appreciate the lasting harm and the negative impacts this specific event had on others – particularly on racialized members of our community. The evident lack of empathy and judgement of the organizers (and any participants) is alarming and disappointing.

Clearly, some students fail to appreciate that our society has changed and progressed; people expect better of students, and rightly are less tolerant of insulting and hurtful behaviours towards others. We have seen and can expect more outrage from the community when students engage in unacceptable behaviours.

Queen’s strives to be a diverse and inclusive community. Any event that degrades, mocks or marginalizes a group or groups of people flies in the face of our shared values and is completely unacceptable. I am grateful that so many students, staff and faculty on campus share this belief and have had the courage to raise their concerns.

To any students who may be feeling negatively affected or in need of help, the university stands with you. I encourage you to speak to someone if you feel you need support. To those who have not yet learned to respect others, I hope you know we are paying close attention.

How do your priorities advance the university’s mission and build the Queen’s of the future that you have envisioned and spoken about?

We are collectively building the Queen’s of the future every day. It’s a place of great traditions, and many of those traditions still survive from my time as a student. Yet no institution survives by staying in the same place. We need to adapt and change. We have made huge progress in the last few years, and I think our trajectory is simply going to continue upward.

My first priority as Principal was to put our financial and governance house in order, develop a culture of planning, and introduce a new budget model – which has been done thanks to the hard work of the Deans and our former Provost. The last few years have been focused on putting in place the conditions for future success, Continue Reading »

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How do your priorities advance the university’s mission and build the Queen’s of the future that you have envisioned and spoken about?

We are collectively building the Queen’s of the future every day. It’s a place of great traditions, and many of those traditions still survive from my time as a student. Yet no institution survives by staying in the same place. We need to adapt and change. We have made huge progress in the last few years, and I think our trajectory is simply going to continue upward.

My first priority as Principal was to put our financial and governance house in order, develop a culture of planning, and introduce a new budget model – which has been done thanks to the hard work of the Deans and our former Provost. The last few years have been focused on putting in place the conditions for future success, including drafting documents such as the Strategic Framework and the Comprehensive International Plan, ensuring sustainable enrolment growth, improving town-gown relations, and working on our talent management.

My current goals are based on a three-year rolling plan, which includes short-term and long-term priorities. The 2017-18 underlying themes are primarily: catalyzing change, which relates to faculty renewal and research prominence; respecting our community, which includes diversity and inclusion as well as encouraging safe and respectful behavior; and an infrastructure strategy, which will look at the question of how we eliminate $300 million worth of deferred maintenance in the next ten to twelve years and, of course, how we will pay for it.

The faculty renewal effort underpins many of these priorities. It will support our commitment to equity and inclusion, enhance our teaching and learning by ensuring students receive mentorship from faculty with diverse backgrounds and experience, and will help us attract promising early- and mid-career faculty who demonstrate exceptional promise as researchers.

Achieving these goals will put us in a position to reach for much greater success in research and innovation. This should lead us, five to ten years down the road, to an enhanced reputation as one of the most distinctive universities in the country in terms of the quality of its teaching, the quality of its students and faculty, the quality of its research, and its ability to innovate.

Looking ahead to the fifth year of our planned faculty renewal efforts, what difference will we see in the Queen’s of 2021-2022?

You will see nearly a quarter of the entire faculty complement turn over between new hires, retirements, and other departures. We will have a number of younger faculty out of recent PhD programs with somewhat different approaches to pedagogy, community relations, and interdisciplinarity. You will also be seeing some mid-career and senior appointments in designated fields to firm up areas of established excellence and promising emerging subjects. Hiring these 200 new faculty is a strategic investment that will lead us into the future.

These new faculty will want to come here because we will be one of Canada’s leading research intensive and teaching universities. They will want to be here because we are a place that recognizes innovation. They will be drawn by the good quality of life, the vibrant culture, and the affordability of living in Kingston. And they will have the chance to teach outstanding students in an environment where there is a great care for health and wellbeing, and in a place where we have made some thoughtful and strategic choices in terms of our research excellence.

The two primary lenses we are using to guide our hiring decisions are research excellence – the few areas at Queen’s that have the capacity to be really world-leading – and diversity and equity, where we know that we have some work to do.

We cannot aspire to be a world leader in every single subject and every single discipline. We have the capacity to make some choices to pursue areas – particle physics is an obvious one, but not the only one – where we can rank in the top 100 or higher. Making such choices does not disadvantage or diminish other areas. A rising tide lifts all boats.

The Provost and I will be taking advice from the Deans and the incoming Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation) in terms of what are the most promising areas. I say ‘areas’ rather than necessarily ‘departments’ or ‘disciplines’ since some will be multidisciplinary. We will also be appealing to our alumni, who recognize the importance of hiring and retaining the best and brightest, for support for endowed chairs and professorships to support our hiring plans.

Why are our research reputation and graduate student experience so important?

For Queen’s to be where we need to be five to ten years from now, we need to raise our game on research and graduate education.

We have an outstanding reputation as an undergraduate institution. We are one of the lead providers of a baccalaureate education, inside and outside the classroom. But it is important, if we are to be a truly balanced academy, that we are equally recognized for our research. It is not just an add-on – it is as big a part as the teaching and support for our faculty members.

Student engagement scores are solid on the undergraduate side. We have a little work to do on graduate engagement scores, and the Deans are looking closely at how we can improve those. It’s something we need to see some movement on in the next few years.

The graduate piece is really important because graduate students contribute enormously to the university. On the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) side of the house, they work on research projects that are very much connected with supervisor’s research programme. They are a big part of the engine that drives research. On the non-STEM side, where that model occurs sometimes but is less common, they contribute to the intellectual life of the humanities and social sciences departments. Even in my current job I still supervise one or two graduate students. They keep me on my toes intellectually. And graduate students also enhance our teaching as TAs and Teaching Fellows.

What do you hope to achieve by implementing the international strategy, and what impact will this have on Queen’s reputation?

Our international recognition has begun to improve through the great success our admissions and international teams have had in bringing people in. If you tell the world about us, they will actually come. Students who come here and return home build our reputation further.

Reputation is important. Apart from attracting fantastic students, it also has an impact on our ability to form international partnerships and secure international research funding. There is an awful lot of research money available in Europe and Asia, for example, which we could be accessing if we had more collaborative partnerships. We want to build on strategic partnerships with institutions we see as equal or better, opening up exchanges for students, creating opportunities for our faculty to have overseas sabbaticals and for faculty to come here on their sabbatical, and build more international research collaborations.

At the same time, there is also funding to be had in industry partnerships. That, in turn, helps the city and our country. All of this is part of a virtuous circle which will further enhance our reputation.

As I suggested above, interdisciplinarity is important. To solve the problems of the world, physicists have to work with chemists, biologists have to work with environmental engineers and, frankly, all of them need the advice of the social sciences, arts, and humanities. Looking ahead in the next few years, I would like to see us move in a bolder direction to organize interdisciplinary entities that bring together people from different departments and faculties.

What do employees need to know and be aware of as far as Queen’s financial competitiveness?

We have come a long way. We would not be hiring 200 faculty over the next five years if we had not got our financial house in order, and achieving this has very much been a collective effort.

On the staff side, Physical Plant Services has been managing our energy costs, saving us a good deal of money over the years. Advancement has been remarkably successful in getting donors to invest and I want to thank them for their hard work. Every dollar into the endowment produces 3.5 cents for particular things we need each year. When you have a large endowment, as we now do, that’s a significant chunk of money.

We have staff in research services and the faculties who work with faculty members and students generating scholarships and operating grants, and those who develop new programs which have brought in additional revenue to the university. Senate has been exceptionally busy in recent years overseeing the development of new programs and exercising its academic oversight of their quality.

And we have a very engaged board of trustees and committees with a lot of financial acuity and experience, and they have helped manage risk and given us a sound financial strategy.

There is still some work to do. We are getting close to resolving some of our long-standing pension issues, which remain a major financial threat. We have significant deferred maintenance challenges to address in the next few years, and it is not only our oldest buildings which need work. We are making progress, as you can see with the number of cranes, trucks, and workers around. Our Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration) is developing a strategic asset management plan so we can identify which buildings are the most urgent for refresh or outright replacement. We have also benefitted from strong returns on our investments and a continued increase in student enrolment, though we must remain cautious and continue to address some of our financial risks.

What are the growth areas for Queen’s reputation, and how do we get there?

Interim Vice-Principal (Research) John Fisher is leading our strategic research plan renewal process, and Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Inclusion) Teri Shearer is leading the academic plan renewal. Both of these processes should be resolved later this year, pending approval by Senate, and those, in turn, will inform our next iteration of the strategic framework in 2019.

We need to develop a more pan-university approach to some of the things we do. As I suggested above, it’s essential that we bring social sciences, humanities, and arts into some of our more well-known areas of strength. Among other things, they are going to be enormously important in our future digital strategy.

There remain some health and wellness challenges, especially around alcohol consumption, where student leaders have been working with us, and with community members, to encourage safe drinking. University Council has a number of Special Purpose committees looking into matters of importance such as alcohol consumption on and off campus. And we need to remain vigilant on the issue of sexual violence, which is often related to abuse of alcohol.

Finally, we must consider what we can do to become a leader in policy innovation once again. I am expecting, in the next month or so, a report on the future of public policy at Queen’s. I think it will give us some very interesting guidance on directions we might take, and the larger issue of Queen’s in the Canadian and larger international public policy sphere. This obviously involves the School of Policy Studies but I think it can involve so many more of our faculty and students around the university.